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As somebody who last night got an Apple stem out of their daughter's lightning port using a SIM card ejector tool, I'm torn. You can't do that (safely) with USB

As somebody who last night got an Apple stem out of their daughter's lightning port using a SIM card ejector tool, I'm torn. You can't do that (safely) with USB-C because of the female plug design.

Aardwolf 3y ago
Then make this thing standard for everyone, whatever, just ensure there is one standard. This of course requires cooperation from the industry. P.s. I'm not actually advocating for making this standard, USB C has too much momentum and I don't think any Linux based device I use knows this other connector.
f_devd 3y ago
You can clean USB-C the same way (I have before) but you need a needle or a very thin sim ejector
- kaibiprime 3y ago
  Wouldn't a metallic pin increase risk for shorts inside the port? I personally use the toothpick end of flossing picks. They're usually very thin and the plastic material doesn't cause any hard abrasion.
  - f_devd 3y ago
    Normally that's correct except that the USB-C pinout is well designed to not put GND and VBUS near each other so it's pretty difficult to actually short anything. Still it's better to use something non-conductive.
- Sammi 3y ago
  I cleaned my phone usb connector like this last week, after the charging cable wouldn't go in, because something was lodged in there. Just used a pin I found on the wall at work to scrape it out. No problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ad133 3y ago
This is one of the strongest pushbacks against USB-C that Apple have: USB-C: You break the stem, you have a useless device and functioning cable Lightning: You break the stem, you have a functioning device and useless cable. One of these is clearly more optimal considering the cost difference between the two. Anecdotally, I have had problems with USB-C ports that I did not have with Micro-USB and (so far) with Lightning (admittedly I have only been an iPhone user for a year or so). Of course, this directive is the correct stance and direction - having a standard and forcing it on everyone. It's just a shame the one they chose may be inferior.
- tpmx 3y ago
  I recently repaired a family member's iPhone. A crappy Lightning cable had been used and the tip metal piece of the plug had somehow broken off and gotten stuck inside the socket. Like this: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/163391/lightning+connector+tip+broken+and+stuck+in+charge+port https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/163391/lightning+connect... Here's a decent 2 minute video that explains the problem and the fix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujHf-ry8zw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujHf-ry8zw
- philistine 3y ago
  You forgot the springs. Lighting has the springs in the device, while USB-C has them on the cable. That is why Apple stopped improving Lighting and developed USB-C. The stem can break, but it is far more rare than a tired spring, which is an inevitability.
  - droopyEyelids 3y ago
    The lightning connector standard specifies it must survive through 20k plug/unplug cycles, the USB-C standard 10k.
  - ksec 3y ago
    > That is why Apple stopped improving Lighting and developed USB-C They did not develop USB-C. That was a thing started by Gruber.
JeremyNT 3y ago
Is this something that happens often for iPhones? I've never seen anything like it with USBC in my non-Apple household. Perhaps the "benefit" you describe is only relevant because the proprietary Apple cable design is so poor?
- jws 3y ago
  I've seen it a couple times, but not with Apple cables. Some of the 3rd party cables have the exterior metal of the connector just sort of snapped/crimped/pressed on and that pulls off to be left in the socket. You have to dig that out before you can put a cable in. To make things more confusing, the broken cable end usually goes in, so the user tells you "I only have one cable that works and it doesn't charge."
- least 3y ago
  > Perhaps the "benefit" you describe is only relevant because the proprietary Apple cable design is so poor? No, the lightning connector's design is actually less prone to snapping than USB type c. Whether or not that it is an advantage is subjective, given that cables are inexpensive and the devices they're attached to generally are not. In my opinion lightning is a vastly superior connector to USB-C. It's easier to insert and it's more robust and doesn't present issue if you do need to remove a snapped connector as was mentioned in the parent comment. In an ideal world, Apple handed off the lightning connector off to the USB consortium and that turned into the type c connector. I don't know if there are physical limitations that would ultimately limit lightning, which has only ever gone as high as USB 3 speeds, but as far as using it on devices that I'm plugging and unplugging, it's much nicer. As it is in the real world, it's a dead end and I am eagerly waiting to get rid of lightning so I can use one connector for all my portable devices.
  - notimetorelax 3y ago
    I have a different experience with lightning. Almost all my lightning cables show burn marks on the connector on one side and charge only in a particular orientation. This behavior reproduces with new cables and new iDevices. Anecdotally, I never had any issues with USB-C charging.
idk1 3y ago
It's not an idea answer, but you can do everything in terms of file transfers and charging via the internet and magsafe respectively.

As somebody who last night got an Apple stem out of their daughter's lightning port using a SIM card ejector tool, I'm torn. You can't do that (safely) with USB-C because of the female plug design.

Aardwolf 3y ago

Then make this thing standard for everyone, whatever, just ensure there is one standard. This of course requires cooperation from the industry. P.s. I'm not actually advocating for making this standard, USB C has too much momentum and I don't think any Linux based device I use knows this other connector.

f_devd 3y ago

You can clean USB-C the same way (I have before) but you need a needle or a very thin sim ejector

kaibiprime 3y ago
Wouldn't a metallic pin increase risk for shorts inside the port? I personally use the toothpick end of flossing picks. They're usually very thin and the plastic material doesn't cause any hard abrasion.
- f_devd 3y ago
  Normally that's correct except that the USB-C pinout is well designed to not put GND and VBUS near each other so it's pretty difficult to actually short anything. Still it's better to use something non-conductive.
Sammi 3y ago
I cleaned my phone usb connector like this last week, after the charging cable wouldn't go in, because something was lodged in there. Just used a pin I found on the wall at work to scrape it out. No problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ad133 3y ago

This is one of the strongest pushbacks against USB-C that Apple have: USB-C: You break the stem, you have a useless device and functioning cable Lightning: You break the stem, you have a functioning device and useless cable. One of these is clearly more optimal considering the cost difference between the two. Anecdotally, I have had problems with USB-C ports that I did not have with Micro-USB and (so far) with Lightning (admittedly I have only been an iPhone user for a year or so). Of course, this directive is the correct stance and direction - having a standard and forcing it on everyone. It's just a shame the one they chose may be inferior.

tpmx 3y ago
I recently repaired a family member's iPhone. A crappy Lightning cable had been used and the tip metal piece of the plug had somehow broken off and gotten stuck inside the socket. Like this: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/163391/lightning+connector+tip+broken+and+stuck+in+charge+port https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/163391/lightning+connect... Here's a decent 2 minute video that explains the problem and the fix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujHf-ry8zw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujHf-ry8zw
philistine 3y ago
You forgot the springs. Lighting has the springs in the device, while USB-C has them on the cable. That is why Apple stopped improving Lighting and developed USB-C. The stem can break, but it is far more rare than a tired spring, which is an inevitability.
- droopyEyelids 3y ago
  The lightning connector standard specifies it must survive through 20k plug/unplug cycles, the USB-C standard 10k.
- ksec 3y ago
  > That is why Apple stopped improving Lighting and developed USB-C They did not develop USB-C. That was a thing started by Gruber.

JeremyNT 3y ago

Is this something that happens often for iPhones? I've never seen anything like it with USBC in my non-Apple household. Perhaps the "benefit" you describe is only relevant because the proprietary Apple cable design is so poor?

jws 3y ago
I've seen it a couple times, but not with Apple cables. Some of the 3rd party cables have the exterior metal of the connector just sort of snapped/crimped/pressed on and that pulls off to be left in the socket. You have to dig that out before you can put a cable in. To make things more confusing, the broken cable end usually goes in, so the user tells you "I only have one cable that works and it doesn't charge."
least 3y ago
> Perhaps the "benefit" you describe is only relevant because the proprietary Apple cable design is so poor? No, the lightning connector's design is actually less prone to snapping than USB type c. Whether or not that it is an advantage is subjective, given that cables are inexpensive and the devices they're attached to generally are not. In my opinion lightning is a vastly superior connector to USB-C. It's easier to insert and it's more robust and doesn't present issue if you do need to remove a snapped connector as was mentioned in the parent comment. In an ideal world, Apple handed off the lightning connector off to the USB consortium and that turned into the type c connector. I don't know if there are physical limitations that would ultimately limit lightning, which has only ever gone as high as USB 3 speeds, but as far as using it on devices that I'm plugging and unplugging, it's much nicer. As it is in the real world, it's a dead end and I am eagerly waiting to get rid of lightning so I can use one connector for all my portable devices.
- notimetorelax 3y ago
  I have a different experience with lightning. Almost all my lightning cables show burn marks on the connector on one side and charge only in a particular orientation. This behavior reproduces with new cables and new iDevices. Anecdotally, I never had any issues with USB-C charging.

idk1 3y ago

It's not an idea answer, but you can do everything in terms of file transfers and charging via the internet and magsafe respectively.